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Good Is Relative
A summer breeze chased through Kurumi's hair as she walked among the trees of her staked out territory. She ran her fingers over the comforting feel of blackwood, one that reminded the girl of the powerful limit that resided in her pathways. To any outside observers, she appeared as nothing more than a girl on the cusp of womanhood, enjoying the summer day among the shade of the treetops. Her lavender eyes conveyed a happy ease, despite remaining sharp and alert. Despite staking out this massive area as her own and properly protecting it, there was no telling what manner of individuals would happen to walk through. Kuru generally allowed herself these walks for a sense of normalcy despite living the life of missing-nin. There were times where she wondered if self-liberation was worth the trouble. But then she remembered the people that she met, the connections that were made, and how she was slowly expanding her family tree, allowing her to build up connections that otherwise would have been lost. Nevertheless, she scanned her surroundings, ready to make herself scarce should the situation call for it. "What a life I lead now..." Kurumi thought aloud before continuing her stroll. As Kurumi strolls in the forest, the gentle breeze collides with her visage. Her surroundings are very bright and elegant. The sound of chirping birds on the branches of the trees, the colorful butterflies that tint the forest with various elegant colors. The sun that strikes the leaves of the trees drawing dazzling shadows allover the ground. The sun rays penetrate the spaces between the leaves illuminating the forest and giving it a delightful glow. Meanwhile, a group of ANBU are investigating the forest. The group is composed of four ANBU. One with a bird mask, another with a tiger mask, the third with a cat mask and the fourth with a faceless mask who is apparently the leader of the squad as he is the one guiding the three through the forest. They are B-Ranked ANBU members as their duties are quite simple, to investigate the forest and report back to the headquarters in case something out of the ordinary occurs. Ergo, they are all quite skilled in the art of escape and the art of stealth. They are extremely experienced in that field. The four men progress through the forest, leaping from tree to tree with utmost fluidity as if they are one with the forest. That's understandable due to the nature of their missions. They seem to know each other quite well since they rarely use formalities while addressing each other. They mostly address each other with the names of the animals on their masks, except for the ANBU with the faceless mask who seems to be called "Ryū". "We need to get this wrapped up quickly. I wanna go home and sleep. It's been a long day" says the tiger ANBU in a rather irritated tone. "Impossible, we still have three more hours. These are Fūrin-sama's orders and we shall follow them completely." says the man with the faceless mask. "You're always like that, Ryū. Nothing occurred in this forest for years. No one has the guts to step in the forest without permission as they realize the dangers in doing so. And we already searched for five hours, there's no one here." says the ANBU with the bird mask. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Tori." says the ANBU with the cat mask who's weaving the seal of confrontation. Apparently he's the sensor of the squad. "There's a strong chakra roaming around about five hundred meters away at two o'clock." he continues. Ryū's silence says it all as the two ANBU are simply ashamed of themselves. "How exactly strong is that chakra?" questions Ryū. "Extremely strong. I feel a burning sensation even though we're a several hundred meters away. The life force is strong on this one apparently." the cat-masked ANBU replies. The four men seem to be quite shocked, yet no one utters a single word. Suddenly, Ryū halts his motion and stands on a tree branch. The other three did the same, stopping on various tree branches and directing their vision towards their leader. "Alright, this seems to be a strong shinobi. We need to take precautions. While we are not sure it's hostile, there's a big chance it is due to the potency of the man's chakra. Here's we'll operate ..." Ryū pauses as his eyes sharpen and squint slightly, which can be seen through the opening in the mask. "Neko..." he says directing his vision towards the cat-masked ANBU. "You will stay back, while the three of us will investigate. You're the most talented at the art of stealth and you're one of the ANBU's best sensors. If we were to fail and die on the battlefield..." he pauses once more, this time they all tense up, yet they remain silent. "... You'd report back to the village and tell them of the incident. Your sensory skills will be able to track that anonymous shinobi even if he escapes. Understood?" he says looking at Neko, Tori, then Tora, whom all nodded respectively. Wasting no time, the three shinobi started leaping from branch to branch, making their way slowly towards the potent chakra signature. They all seem to be very tense and anxious. The aforementioned fluidity vanishes as they become more stiff and nervous as they all begin to notice the strong chakra sensation that grows with each leap. "Damn it, it's so fucking potent, if this is an enemy we're done for." thinks the tiger-masked ANBU as he realizes that the investigation squad wasn't trained enough for such strong battles. Nonetheless, the three progress towards the chakra signature as fear pierces their hearts more with each tree branch, with the exception of Ryū who seems to be the most composed out of the three. After several minutes, they notice Kurumi's blond hair. "Wait, is that a woman?" questions Tora as they get even more closer. "She is" confirms Ryū. The three disappear and then reappear on top of a tree branch in front of Kurumi. The tree branch that they're standing on is higher than that of Kurumi. As the three men look down at the woman, they do not realize that she's a missing shinobi as no one recognizes her visage. "Halt!" says Ryū with a thick tone. "These are forbidden grounds, you better have a good reason to be here. Identify yourself, intruder!" he continues as the other two remain silent. Neko slowly makes his way towards the battlefield. However, he's hiding in the bushes, obscured by the leaves and the tall trees. He's using Chakra Suppression Technique in order to cover his chakra signature. His stealth abilities are flawless as he was trained by the ANBU in that specific field alongside sensory. The man peers through the bushes as his eyes widen. He recognizes the woman from wanted posters scattered in Kumogakure, which he spotted during his last visit. "That's a dangerous Kunoichi! Should I tell them to run?" the man thinks for a few seconds. "No... If I do so. We're all done for. They wouldn't want that. They're seeking Konoha's wellbeing. Even if it means dying on the battlefield ... so be it!" the man's chain of thoughts continue as he observes, praying that his comrades make it out alive. Kurumi turned at the sound of voices, finding three masked anbu standing on the tree branch in front of her. As soon as they made themselves known, her senses went on high alert, automatically searching for other individuals besides the one present. She caught the smallest hint of a fourth individual, but not enough to pinpoint him with perfect accuracy. Then again, she could be mistaking another being for a fourth anbu. Nevertheless, whoever had trained him in the art of stealth had done well; for the moment though he appeared to simply remain in an observation role. "So he shouldn't intervene, at least not initially. If it is a ninja anyways." Kurumi thought before returning her attention to the three men. "Forbidden grounds? That's a shame considering I call this my home." Kurumi stated innocently, gesturing to the immense blackwood forest around her. "Is that a good enough reason to remain here?" she continued, her voice pleasant yet icy. Meanwhile, her thoughts focused on the various ways to exit this scene. After she had committed the deed of course. Considering they were Anbu who claimed this territory to be private property, they had to be from the Land of Fire, meaning they weren't sent to retrieve her. Yet. She couldn't take any chances though, considering she didn't know if word had spread of her exploits. "Maybe you should watch where your standing though," she smiled at the three before the branch shifted under them, growing in length and branch count before cocooning around the three anbu. Considering she had quite a bit of time to perfect it, the branches reacted quickly, almost as if they were an extension of her will. Though maybe they were, considering this entire domain had been built by her hand. Kuru walked closer to the three as the branches tightened their hold, looking to crush the individuals into splinters of their former selves. "Don't come back to my home. Understood?" she said softly, her eye color darkening to violet. A hint of killing intent exuded from her person as she walked away from the trapped three, trusting her forest to do its job. "You may want to watch your footsteps on your way home. This forest can be a little hostile to intruders." Kuru stated as she left the three to their untimely demise. With a whisper of wind the woman disappeared, blending into the land that she called her own. "They will never leave me alone will they.." she thought, traveling through her homeland with deadly speed. Why she chose to leave one alive remained a mystery to those involved. Perhaps she didn't feel like killing everyone today, or maybe for the sake of hubris, she desired a witness to a tickling of her abilities. Nevertheless, if that anbu was worth his salt, he would know how dangerous it would be to reside in that forest for an extended period of time, given the nature of what happened to the others. Neko witnesses as his three friends get crushed by the branches. His eyes widen as he just witnessed the usage of an extinct bloodline. However, his mind was obscured by the death of his comrades. Signs of anger begin to appear on his body language as he grips his fists, which are shaking with his rage. "I-I swear I'll get my revenge!" he says looking at the ground beneath him then delivering a firm strike with his right fist to the ground. He then recalls Ryū's words before going after the intruder. "So you know..." he says looking at the corpse of the three. He pauses for a few seconds. Then several tears drop from underneath his mask. "Farewell, Tora ... Ryū ... Tori ... You were the best teammates I've ever seen. And thank you for everything. Goodbye..." Neko gives his final words to his comrades, yet he stays composed to a degree as his tears has halted. He weaves a hand seal, creating a duplicate of himself. "Report back to Fūrin-sama. I'll tail the intruder and I will give you information of my coordinates." he says as the clone nods. The clone puts on a headset that's given to him by Neko in order to stay in contact with him. The duplicate makes his way back to the village, while Neko rushes with rage behind Kurumi, yet maintaining his cover. His sensory skills allows him to keep track of Kurumi even in the forest. The clone returns back to the village and rushes through the gates, making his way to the underground headquarters of the ANBU. "I need to speak to Fūrin-sama immediately!" he cried at the guard. The guard did not question him as he knew that something must have occurred in the forest, especially due to the absence of the other three as Ryū was always the one who reports for his squad. Upon entering the headquarters he makes his way to Fūrin's office. He knocks on the door and an elegant voice gives him the permission to enter. The office design resembles the ANBU. The walls and the chair are all black tinted. The floor is made out of wood. Upon entering the man witnesses the Fūrin's chair, which is turned around so that he's facing Fūrin's back, the woman herself was obscured by shadows. The man kneels down "F-Fūrin-sama! I have an urgent report!" he says stuttering. "Where is Ryū?" Fūrin replies coldly. "Ryū and the others were exterminated..." the man says as silence consume the atmosphere. The chair is then turned and the woman stands up and walks towards Neko, away from the shadows and into the lights. Her height is average for a woman. She's wearing a sleeveless black Kimono with two pieces of cloth starting from the top of her elbow and extending to her wrists. She's wearing a short tight skirt that's made out of black silk and black sandals. Her hair is long and silky, with bangs dropping on her forehead giving her an elegant look. Her skin is bright and glowing under the light of the lamps. Her physique is astonishing, she possesses firm and wide thighs. In general she maintains a skinny look. The woman sits on the table and crosses her arms. "Go on" she orders. "Fūrin-sama, we were walking through the forest on our routine patrol when I caught signs of a very strong chakra. When we went to investigate, we found that it's a young woman who happens to be a missing shinobi from Kumogakure. If I recall correctly, her name is Kurumi. I stayed back as the three went in to fight her ... they stood no chance against her. She killed them in seconds." he then pauses to see Fūrin's reaction. She stares at him with her crimson eyes for a few seconds while the man is still kneeling. The Shikaze seems unfazed by his words and maintain an impassive expression. "You mean to tell me ... that three of our ANBU members were killed in a matter of seconds?" she question with a low tone that's filled with relaxation as if nothing had happened. "Well, Fūrin-sama. She's no ordinary opponent ... she seems to be a practitioner of ... Mokuton..." upon hearing that Fūrin's eyes widen. "Mokuton? Impossible. Are you certain? It could be a Genjutsu." she question. "I'm positive." he replies. Fūrin pauses for a few seconds. "Where did she set off to?" she asks. "My real body is tailing her at the moment. When he updated me, he told me she's going towards the outskirts of the land of fire." the man replies. "I see" Fūrin's gaze sharpens. "A Mokuton user ... interesting." she thought. "Alright, get up I'm going myself to investigate." she tells the man as he jumps in surprise. "I-Impossible! You're the leader of the ANBU, that's a really big risk!" he tries convincing the woman but she replies with silence. She grabs a long Katana from underneath her desk and tied it to her lower back. "Lets move." she orders and the man has no chance but to obey. As the two make their way out of the headquarters everyone seems to be in shock as the eyes of the ANBU members chased the two through the halls. Everyone questioned why the leader would set out by herself and with no support from her most-trusted ANBU. However, no one has the bravery to question her so they maintain their silence. The two make their way out of the village. Neko is extremely nervous while Fūrin seems to be overly relaxed. The two leap from branch to branch and their mentality is apparent on their movement. Neko is very stiff and tensed, while Fūrin is moving with facility and grace. Meanwhile, the real Neko is tailing Kurumi who seems to have stopped near the outskirts of the land of fire. He then reports to his clone and tells him the coordinates. The clone then guides the Shikaze towards the destination. Maybe she was a bit obsessive, but Kuru had the strangest feeling she was being followed. So she sped up, relying on the Floating Stone lessons given to her by Haigatake to move with effortless grace and notable silence through the forest. In time the area changed, signaling the end of her homeland and the beginning of the Fire's western reaches. Kuru smiled as she submerged herself with a tree before an identical clone stepped out of the same one. The clone pondered what to do next, considering there was likely more anbu to come once they discovered the death of their comrades. That is, if that hadn't figured out such a conclusion already. Part of her wondered if she should have resorted to Mokuton, yet it felt as natural as breathing for her. Since discovering the bloodline a few years ago, Kuru had honed it like a blade, before opening the connection that it gave her to the natural world. It was a freeing sensation, one that she knew wouldn't have happened if she chose to remain with Kumogakure's confines. Nevertheless, the time had come to see if something was following her. She turned to look at her homeland's edge, noting the eerie silence it conveyed. Something was there, though how long it would take to reveal itself she didn't know. Bored, she sat crosslegged on the ground, her back to the blackwoods and her front facing the lands of the fire's border country. It irked her that the anbu had the audacity to permeate her domain, not even bothering to take care but rather stomp their way through the place. She would not endanger her territory for some petty ninja who had no regards for the world they walked upon. Part of her remembered faint cries of anguish as she left the scene. They would definitely being coming, knowing how powerful loyalties between shinobi could be. It's why Kumogakure chased her with such audacity despite losing some excellent ninja in the process. Revenge was a dangerous thing after all; it could cause even the best to lose their composure when their loved ones were snatched away from them in succinct fashion. "Whatever," she thought aloud, unimpressed by the anbu that she had just destroyed. From their manner of death it was clear they had no idea about her infamy, though this other one that came along just might have a clue. Staring at the sun, she wondered how long it would take for them to navigate the natural world she had created. Hopefully not too long, though they might find some surprises along the way. Fūrin and Neko's clone maintain their progress towards the desired destination. Fūrin's mind is brimming with ideas and hypotheses of how that anonymous shinobi acquired the extinct bloodline. "It all depends on her compatibility. This kunoichi will either be my greatest ally or my greatest foe. In case of the latter, I don't believe I'll let someone with such a kekkei genkai roaming around for too long." she thought. "Nonetheless, precautions must be taken. I do have some experience with Mokuton myself. Although I'm uncertain of her level of mastery. This will certainly be interesting." As Fūrin is roaming in her endless thoughts, she's interrupted by Neko's clone "Fūrin-sama, we're closing in on the real me." he says. Fūrin replies with silence once more, then she speaks saying "Yes ... I can feel her chakra from over here. It's in the air." After five minutes, they catch up with the original Neko who is standing in some bushes in a large field. Upon seeing Fūrin, the original Neko bowed and the clone was dispelled. "Fūrin-sama. The intruder is several meters away now, what's our plan of assault?" the man questions. Fūrin remains silent for a few seconds as a gust of wind blows through her silky hair. She looks at the man "No ... I will fight alone. Report back to the village." Hearing this statement, the man was enraged yet he controlled his anger to an extent. "But Captain! She killed my friends, I want my revenge! You can't stop me!!" he says with a loud tone. Afterwards, he realizes how disrespectful he was to the leader of the ANBU and his gaze is turned from anger to fear. Fūrin stares him dead in the eyes with her piercing gaze. "You better watch your tongue, brat. Keep talking like that and you might miss it soon." The Shikaze replies coldly. "U-understood." the man says as he bows to his leader in apology and disappears instantly returning to his village. Fūrin locates her target, she closes her eyes and is seemingly dissolved in thin air as she disappears gradually from her toes to her head. In a mere instant, she appears several meters behind Kurumi. "Yo." says the Shikaze. "I had a feeling you would come. You're a persistent sort aren't you?" Kurumi said as the wind glided through her blonde hair. She stood before turning to face the woman, retaining an impassive demeanor as if she didn't have a care in the world. Her eyes remained a piercing violet, drilling holes in the individual. "Have you come to collect me? Or better yet, take revenge for your teammates?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Though I must admit, I'm surprised you haven't attacked yet." She took a few steps in the direction of the Shikaze, careful to keep some distance between them. If Kuru was impressed by how silently the woman had approached her, she didn't show it. "So to what do I owe this visit?" she asked, relaxing ever so slightly upon the woman's calmness. She looked at her hands, noting that callouses had begun to develop. All those time in the forest served to harden her, both mentally and physically. Awaiting Shikaze's response, Kuru's curiosity grew, causing her to take a few more steps before sitting down cross-legged once more. This time facing the woman. "Sit. You seem to be dying to ask some questions, so feel free to spill them anbu-nin. I promise I won't bite, too hard anyway," Kurumi stated flippantly. Despite having killed three anbu and likely confronting another one, she seemed to be at ease. Perhaps Kuru had become used to the path her life had taken. Fūrin's impression is as dull as it can be. She seems to maintain her facial expressions most of the time. Something she was trained at as an ANBU member. Nonetheless, The Shikaze analyzes the woman closely. She reads her body language and realizes that she's rather relaxed, which irritated Fūrin ever so slightly. Fūrin's pose is relaxed as she's relaxing her muscles and resting her right hand on her waist. "A light-hearted fellow I see. Well unfortunately I don't have the time to sit and talk. Why I'm here is none of your concerns. I believe that you're a user of Mokuton. That's quite a rare trait you know." Fūrin says with a relaxed tone as the tension in the air begins to ease away. "Lets say I'm here to inquire about that certain matter. It's not every day that you run into someone with that specific bloodline. Especially when it's a missing Kunoichi from Kumogakure. It's sad really how we end up cleaning their mess." She says shaking her head. Then she looks Kurumi dead in the eyes "Oh and by the way... " Silence consume the area for a few seconds. "You shouldn't sit like that in my presence..." Fūrin lifts her left hand and points with her index finger at Kurumi. She smiles so cheerfully and tilts her head slightly. "... It's disrespectful." as soon as she finishes her statement, an explosive gust of wind bursts out of her index finger towards Kurumi with astonishing speed and pressure enough to shatter the ground in front of her and turn it into dust. Kurumi grinned at Fūrin, having dodged the speedy gust with an acrobatic twirl that would have made him proud. Her momentum brought the woman closer to Fūrin, though a gap still remained. "Now now, there's no need to be so hostile. The world isn't yours for the taking. Though I doubt that would dissuade someone of your character." she said. The woman gave off a pungent smell of anbu, from her dull expression to her the efficiency of her attacks. What concerned her more however was the glint of ambition with the anbu-nin's eyes. She was one who would be more than happy to crush anyone on her way to the top. Kurumi could see the merits of that considering the way the world worked; it reminded her of the philosophy of several previous Raikage. "You're not like the others I see. You seem...what's the word? More capable." she pondered, "Do you boss around everyone this way? How disappointing. I find it difficult to imagine you having friends with such a sour demeanor. Though you should really watch your step." A root appeared underneath Fūrin's feet before wrapping around them with incredible speed. "Does that answer your hypothesis? Also, I'm fully aware of the rarity of my limit, thanks to some inquiries. Maybe I'll take you to meet my family sometime, since you seem terribly interested in my Mokuton." Kuru stated flippantly. "Is that all you came to ask? I must say, I was hoping for more conversation. It can be lonely out here sometimes, though I suppose I signed up for this. If that's all, I'll be on my way then." she finished before beginning to walk around Fūrin. Fūrin's expression is as still as a stone. Only looking at the roots underneath her feet for a second before looking back at Kurumi. She closes her eyes as Kurumi strolls slowly until she's right beside Fūrin. "Please ..." she places her right hand on her Katana and with a single slash she cuts the roots restraining her feet, she rests her blade of her sword on her shoulder while the handle is resting in her hand. She looks at Kurumi with her crimson eyes. "... Don't insult me with such disheartening attempts." she continues. As soon as she finishes her statement, a giant azure arm is spawned from thin air above her shoulder. That arm attempts to strike Kurumi with a hammer-like motion, which shatters the ground. An azure aura forms around the woman, suddenly the ground underneath her starts cracking and in an instant a giant explosion erupts from Fūrin's body which causes a violent gust of wind and it shatters the ground underneath her creating a large crater around her. "The ANBU leader, former captain commander of the military, former advisor of the Hokage. Fūrin no Shikaze." says Fūrin maintaining her dull expression. Kurumi flew backwards with an effortless cartwheel, before landing on both feet in cat-like fashion at the crater's edge. "You think those were meant to restrain you? Don't make me laugh Fūrin." Kuru retorted. A massive aura of a green-blue hue sprung from Kurumi's person, altering the land around her on a monumental scale. Soon she stood in a crater of her own, while a midnight dragon flew towards Fūrin at incredible speed, looking to snap the Shikaze in two. Gripping her bō staff, she gave it an expert twirl, catching it behind her back before pointing it at Fūrin. "I must admit, you're an interesting individual. A bit windy for my liking, but fascinating none the less." she continued. "Active Inventor, former Kumogakure Council Head, daughter of the presiding Raikage, heir to the Lightning's throne, current missing-nin. Kurumi Yuri." Kuru said, her smile playful. She then slammed her palms on the ground, causing the crater Fūrin was residing to rupture and collapse. "Now that we've exchanged pleasantries, tell me what your business is." the woman stated, wondering why an Anbu would be so terribly interested in meeting her. Fūrin stares at the gigantic dragon coming towards her yet she's unfazed, her expression remains the same. "Hmph" she weaves the seal of confrontation "Fūton: Fūryūdan no Jutsu" she whispers, an enormous dragon erupts from thin air, which is similar to the size of the Mokuton dragon. They collide violently, which divert Kurumi's technique out of its path. The wind dragon returns to Fūrin's side and begins to swirl around her as if it's a shield. The dragon itself is made of a great amount of compressed, swirling wind. It's presence causes a disturbance in the surrounding air, creating miniature wind gusts. "Didn't expect her to get so serious from the start considering she was testing my winds a moment ago." she thought. "My business? Don't make me laugh. You're a criminal. You killed three ANBU members and you're wanted by your homeland. Isn't that a good enough reason for me to exterminate you?" "Exterminate is such a strong word. Wouldn't defeat suffice?" Kuru responded. She made a mock pout as Fūrin rattled off reasons for her "imminent" death. "And here I thought we were getting along. Silly me. Though don't try to fool me, I know you're dying to uncover the origins of my bloodline limit. Maybe I'll tell you if you ask me nicely." Kurumi responded, her pretend pout turning into an irritatingly playful grin. For in all honesty, she was enjoying herself: this Shikaze character was leagues above her subordinates and the Kumo anbu sent to fetch her over the past few years. From what she could tell in this small sample size, this woman possessed a powerful mastery over the wind, enough to be considered an affinity and then some. Kurumi's wood dragon returned to her side, the young woman pressing a hand against the beast to heal any injuries inflicted by the Woman of the Gales. Her smile broadened as she watched the effortless shape transformation employed by the Anbu captain. This was a woman worthy of her standing as a leader. "Would I be remiss in saying that you are holding back? Surely you had opportunities to wipe me from this earth or "exterminate" me. Yet you chose not to..why?" Kurumi asked before forming several quick handseals. Erecting a rather simplistic construct around Fūrin's area. Though she quickly expanded it in an effort to contain the impressive wind dragon that Fūrin enveloped around herself. Fūrin doesn't move an inch as the great wooden construct envelop her and her dragon. Instead, she observes closely in order to know that woman's prowess in wood release. As she's being enveloped in the wooden prison, her wind dragon begins to decrease in size and vanishes gradually in thin air. Fūrin remains silent for a few seconds, which builds up tension. She gazes at Kurumi "Indeed, your assumptions are correct. I am holding back. Very well, if you desire to know the secret behind my interest, I'll tell you. However, let me get out of this cage you created." Fūrin says gripping her sword with her right hand as an aura of green chakra forms and incases the blade of her Katana. "Kireaji" she whispers, increasing the sharpness of her blade to an incredible extent. She performs two slashes at the bars of the cage, making an opening for herself as she steps out effortlessly. She sheaths her Katana and walks a few steps closer to Kurumi. "You see, it's not every day you find a shinobi with this sort of bloodline limit. It occurred three times in Konoha's history, beside the First Hokage, the two gained this Kekkei Genkai through experimental methods. Ergo, it's not common to find someone born naturally with that bloodline." she pauses for a few seconds, allowing her words to sink in. "The reason for coming here myself is that I didn't know the extent of your powers. You could be strong and execute any shinobi I send at you. Or you could be weak and die in battle, and we don't want that, do we?" "Perish the thought." Kurumi grinned at Fūrin's last comment. She noted her efforts with the Wood Release still held room for improvement, though they are increased exponentially since the time she first started using the limit. She dispelled her dragon for the sake of a less warlike appearance. "So I'm quite the rare occurrence. One you appeared to study extensively before meeting me or ever knowing of my existence. I'm must say I'm not surprised. Since my ancestor possessed the lauded ability, another user was a long time coming. I guess lady fate decided I was next in line." Kuru's answer was cryptic, yet there were hints of information. Some that could be pieced together to find out an interesting truth. "I can assure you though, I'm no experiment. This ability was mine from the get go. I never liked experiment settings anyways." She paused to consider Fūrin's words once more. "So you prefer to lead from the front. I suppose that is a respectable quality, one that would earn the loyalty of your underlings." It was at that point Kuru began debating whether or not she would spill the beans completely on the family traces that would ultimately provide a clue of her history and her family's ties to the vaunted KG. "I guess I'll let you in on a little secret." Kuru pondered aloud. "My primogenitor...." she paused for dramatic effect, one that increased tension within the surroundings to a high point, "Is the First Hokage. Or Hashirama Senju, depending on who you're talking to." Like Fūrin did earlier, she waited for that proclamation to sink in, amid cries of lies or demands of evidence, maybe even simple denial. Her smile sank from a playful grin to that of calm serenity, the wind whistling softly as silence commenced. Kurumi's assumptions are nothing short of correct. "Impossible" replies Fūrin quickly. She seems to be in absolute denial. "The First Hokage's blood ... perished with his clan. There's a small chance of finding Senju shinobi roaming around these days, let alone being related to Senju Hashirama." Fūrin pauses and starts making her own hypotheses. The only logical explanation is her relation to the first. Fūrin ponders for a few seconds while analyzing the the woman. "Even if what you're saying is true. There's no chance in hell you'll be directly related to the First. His blood was diluted over the years and vanished eventually. Thus, you're Senju blood is impure, fused with other bloodlines, which would explain your former residence was in Kumogakure. Am I correct?" "Oh no, we have a purist on our hands." Kurumi responded flippantly. "You would be correct in that observation. Though allow me to lay it out my family history for you. My great-great-grandmother, Hashirama's granddaughter, is Tsunade. Directly descended from her is my great-grandfather, her son, Sannoto Senju. I'm sure you've heard of him for either his alias, war heroics or perversion. His daughter, my grandmother, is Sayuri Hatake, formerly Sayuri Uchiha. Then we have my mother, Sayuri's estranged daughter Shigemi Yuri, a former leader of Root. Which brings us to me, the daughter of Shigemi and the incumbent Raikage Kiyoshi Yuri. An individual who himself possesses Senju lineage. If I were to estimate by percentages, I would say I'm about 33% Senju along with a 66% mix of other notable clans from Konoha and Kumo. But make no mistake, there is a direct avenue between me and him." Kurumi giggled as she waited for this to sink in. It appeared she was enjoying Fūrin's discomfort at the notion. "I see." Fūrin gazes into the woman even more as if she is staring at her soul through her eyes. Despite her silence, the Shikaze is thinking many thoughts all at once. "Even though the names you mentioned are notable shinobi and kunoichi, most are impure Senju, and the dilution of blood increased with each birth. I wouldn't call it a direct avenue between you and the first. However, it is impressive that you managed to acquire such a bloodline. Now tell me, why didn't you attack me from the beginning like you did to my subordinates? And why are you answering my questions?" Fūrin questions as she presumed that Kurumi would be more aggressive towards her, not open to her inquiries. Part of Kurumi wondered the same, considering her normal attacks patterns focused on being the early bird; that is, execute before her opponent could consider defense. It helped when she resided on home turf. Then again, most of the world had become that very notion for her, endowing the woman with a significant advantage in various situations. "Maybe I recognized you as a potential ally. Maybe I'm starting to tire of constantly killing people to protect my independence. Or perhaps I wanted to see what you had offer as an individual and a kunoichi. Hell, maybe I just wanted to talk with someone. As for the second question, that's a simple answer. I understand intellectual curiosity or the need to know. Regardless of the consequences. It's what put me in this situation after all." at this Kurumi laughed in bitter fashion. "Was it worth it? I don't know, I've met some good people, learned a few things, delved into my family archives and grew stronger. The amount of killing necessary for this to happen though....seems to tip the scales in an unfavorable position. Though as my Sayuri Hatake would say, what's done is done. A charming woman that one." Kuru continued, knowing that was the complete opposite of most people's perceptions related to the Kami. Fūrin grasps the potential importance of Kurumi. Fūrin is a rather opportunistic individual. She finds opportunities in the smallest of situations. Thus, she realizes that executing Kurumi or attempting to attack her would be in vain due to her egregious bloodline. She also recognizes Kurumi as a potential ally due to her unique personality that Fūrin can take advantage of her nature in order to widen her the range of her subordinates as she acknowledges Kurumi's capabilities. "You seem like a smart one. There's no use in fighting you." Fūrin says with a hint of a grin on her visage. She looks at Kurumi "When I want to find you. I'll seek you in the forest. Until then. This meeting never happened. Farewell." Fūrin starts dissolving in thin air, from her toe to her head gradually, until she vanishes completely leaving no trace of her presence. "Of course. We have reputations to protect after all. I look forward to it." Kurumi said, catching the hint that was Fūrin's smile. "What an interesting woman." Kuru thought aloud as the latter faded away. She grinned as she dissipated into earth and trees, leaving nothing but the ground behind. The real Kurumi emerged from the base of a tree trunk, a mirroring smile upon her face. "That went well, all things considered." she continued, before walking to the next tree and merging with that one. She soon began tree-hopping as she raced towards her home, feeling a tad peckish after that skirmish with the Shikaze. Part of her wondered what it would be like to have an ally, considering they were in terribly short supply these days. Nevertheless, she expected something interesting days ahead. Category:Great's Play of Words